Swietenia Mahagon

It was the perfect wood, a gift to furniture makers.

Straight lines and even grain, pure and smooth.

The reddish-brown colour darkening over time.

Found by conquistadors it emerged from jungles in

Cuba and Honduras to captivate the artisans workshop

at Gillows & Co. in Lancaster. Where Thomas Dowbiggin

had apprenticed his trade a cabinet maker and joiner

after leaving life on the farm in Tatham the Lesser.

Its durability, flexibility and wide boards were ideal for

perfection required by the trade. Thrones. Chairs.

and Neoclassical for noble homes of England. The

mahogany carried Thomas to Mayfair in 1816 where

Chippendale, Ince and Mayhew.had plied their craft to

Crown and peerage. Soon his shop was synonymous

with the palaces and manor homes of England. His

trade catalogue shows the Duke of Wellington. Lady Cardigan.

Lord Casterleagh. Piccadilly and Grimsthorpe; Drummond Castle

and Audley End. Conjuring beauty from supple mahogany.

Till young Queen Victoria summoned Thomas in 1837 to

create her coronation throne at Buckingham Palace.

Red crimson velvet against sumptuous gilded frames.

Royal emblems: rose, shamrock, thistle. All surmounted

by the Royal Crown. Carved in intricate detail at

the Mount Street workshop. The former apprentice from

the reekie fells of the northwest received a sumptuous

L1187 fee. Then purchased Bute House in Grosvenor.

The grateful sovereign next commissioned a magnificent

50-metre state banquet table for Windsor Castle. The

sheen still reflects the splendour of St. George’s Hall.

Such was his integrity that he asked to determine whether

George IV had received fair value for Windsor Palace repairs,

and appointed to advise on furniture for the 1851 Great Exhibition

Since he died in 1854 Thomas has been celebrated as

master craftsman His production still in demand at auction.

Long after the glories of Victoria Regina have faded this

son of Francis Dowbiggin, cabinet maker of Lancaster,

grandson of Thomas Dowbiggin senior, Gillow’s foreman,

has become herald of England in its mahogany moment.